A Tale of Three stockings
Why do we hang stockings on the fireplace at Christmas?
As the story goes, there was a widowed man with three very beautiful daughters. The family was poor and the man was scared that his daughters would never marry because of their low status.
One day, Saint Nicholas was walking through the town when he overheard the local villagers discussing the sad situation of the three girls. He decided to help but knew that the man would never accept an act of charity so he secretly entered the family’s home at night, by sliding down the chimney, and noticed that the girls had hung their newly washed stockings up to dry on the fireplace. He filled each one with enough gold for a dowry and disappeared into the night.
The next morning, the girls were elated to find the money and their father was finally at peace. When the townspeople heard what at happened, they too hung up stockings on their fireplaces.